Saturday, June 11, 2011

Marriage

Since I belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, or "Mormons" as we are commonly called, sometimes the questions can be off the wall and don't make any sense. Other times they are quite logical, such as "Can my marriage continue after death" or "How many wives do you have"...and while logical, some are quite misinformed. Let us no longer be misinformed, misunderstood, or misconstrued; so how about a link to the answers?
http://mormon.org/faq/#Marriage

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Self-Worth and Self-Confidence

Many of us are blinded when we think we have less value than others, or that others have less value than another. That is so not true! We are all God's children, and, as such, have great value in God's eyes(John 3:16-17; Matt. 18:11-14). All of us, no matter your size (whether big or small), matters to God. There is a story in which there is a young woman, because of circumstances created by neighbors in her island tribe, who believes that she is of less worth than any on the island. When her island community is visited by a trader named Johnny Lingo she finds that, although not appreciated by some, she still has worth to others.
This story is portrayed in this video:

http://radio.lds.org/video/johnnylingo?lang=eng

Saturday, June 4, 2011

Families and Service

       You know what? I love helping people, I also love how it makes them smile when I do something nice for them. It sure makes a difference in someone's life when you do an act of random kindness to them, or what I like to call an "ARK." Not only does it make them happy, it also give you an awesome, nice, warm, and tingly sensation when you do because you know you've made a differance(http://mormon.org/service/).
      Don't worry about it being a huge thing, it could be something as simple as a smile, a hug, a freindly 'hello', or even just being there. Sometimes all it takes is being a friend or a kindly neighbor who's willing to listen. While although some of us have all the time and the means to do anything for anyone in our lives, or that we encounter, many of us can't seem to even scrape by. So it doesn't mean you need to right away, after all, family first. There's a prophet in the Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ that really bashes on the men for not taking care of their families (Jacob 2). Another man (this time a king who's name is Benjamin) says that we should give to others when we can, and desire to when we can't(Mosiah 4:24). So please strengthen your family and when you can do service for others, including your family.
(http://mormon.org/family/)

The Restoration

What The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints comes out to share is that after Christ and His Apostles died that the christian church back then fell into what is called an "apostasy," or a period of spiritual darkness (or, as said by Paul, a "falling away" in 2 Thes. 2:1-3). After 1700-1800 years, approximately, God spoke again to mankind, this time to a young man named Joseph Smith Junior. Joseph was called to be a prophet and was later given God's authority, or the priesthood, by Heavenly messengers; and, under the direction of God and Jesus Christ, restored the church as originally set up upon the earth.
http://mormon.org/restoration/
And ever since Joseph was called as a prophet there has always been a prophet to lead and guide The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Prophets are really important to God, as they are basically a steward/spokesman for Him to keep His church in perfect order, as He intended. When Jesus was on the earth, walking around among men, women, and children, He called twelve diciples (or Apostles, as they were so named) to run His Church. In a way all of these men were prophets. Twelve Apostles are also found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Find out more at:
http://mormon.org/faq/#Prophets

Friday, June 3, 2011

Who Loves Their Neighbor?

Well, if you chose to not raise your hand to that, why didn't you? Yeah, I know that sometimes we don't like eachother and that everyone hase their own life and stuff like that. But that doesn't mean we can't still love the person, even when we don't like what they do. Sometimes those neighbors are the ones in our own family, other times they're just random people you don't really know all that well. So how do we change our outlook in life so that we can love everyone just like Jesus said(John ch.'s 13 and 15)?
http://lds.org/pages/love-one-another?lang=eng

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Addiction Recovery

I have heard of some really nice people, and met some too. I really liked them, but they couldn't or wouldn't help themselves with addictions with all too real, and often deadly, consequenses. This is really unfortunate. While some just sit around and mope, some don't. So why don't we help them? We can, but why won't we? That must be the saddest part of all! So some well-meaning, and well-inspired people went to work and found a way to help all of those who are struggling with addiction; if you know any, or are one, look at this link for ideas to help...
http://lds.org/church/news/addiction-recovery-program-brings-individuals-to-christ?lang=eng

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Gardening and God

Are these two separate subjects really as separate as they are thought to be?
I was thinking about this, and found this article:

http://lds.org/ensign/2005/07/three-green-beans-and-me?lang=eng

I was truly amazed at it. Sometimes, I know, I am just like the main character in this story, not really caring and thinking I'm too busy for what I'm supposed to do. And, honestly, I find that like in this story, I am always embarrassed when it is time to account for it.
This has tremendous value not only to gardeners, but to everyone. There are many people with young kids, and kids not so young; there are managers with several employees under them; there are church leaders with many in their congregations; but the principle is the same: do your duty and you will know God even more. Even when it is seemingly hopeless, just think: do I look hopeless to God? You certainly don't! That's why He keeps coming around to you!